Kim Kim Jong-un’s brutal response to failed US talks

Trump-Kim nuclear summit finishes with no deal

The second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un has ended without a formal deal, with the US President walking away from talks with the North Korean leader. A verbal agreement was made on the second day of talks in Hanoi, with the North Korean leader saying no further nuclear testing will be run. President Trump has described the summit as 'really very productive' but conceded 'sometimes you just have to walk' after the pair could not find a consensus position over sanction relief. Neither party has confirmed whether another summit will take place.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following a meeting in Hanoi. Picture: Saul LoebSource:AFP

North Korea has executed Kim Hyok Chol, its special envoy to the US, and foreign ministry officials who carried out working-level negotiations for the second US-North Korea summit in February, holding them responsible for its collapse, a South Korean newspaper reports.

Kim Yong Chol, a senior official who had been US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s counterpart in the run-up to the summit between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, is also said to have been subjected to forced labour and ideological education, the Chosun Ilbo said.

"Kim Hyok Chol was investigated and executed at Mirim Airport with four foreign ministry officials in March," an unnamed North Korea source said, according to the Chosun Ilbo, adding that they were charged with spying for the U.S.

The North Korean leader is believed to be carrying out a massive purge to divert attention away from internal turmoil and discontent.

“Kim Hyok Chol was investigated and executed at Mirim Airport with four foreign ministry officials in March,” an unnamed North Korea source reportedly said, adding they were charged with spying for the US.

Kim Jong-un was reportedly angry at the failure of the talks. Picture: Evan VucciSource:AP

Kim Hyok Chol had been negotiations counterpart to US special representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun before the summit.

Kim Yong Chol was forced to work in Jagang Province after his dismissal, the source said, adding that Kim Song Hye, who carried out working-level negotiations with Kim Hyok Chol, was sent to a political prison camp.

Shin Hye Yong, the interpreter for Kim Jong-un at the Hanoi meeting, is also said to have been detained in a political prison camp.

Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister who aided him in Hanoi, is also said to be lying low, the paper reported, citing an unnamed South Korean government official who said: “We are not aware of Kim Yo Jong’s track record since the Hanoi meeting ... We understand that Kim Jong-un has made her lie low.”

The US-North Korea summit in February was widely criticised as a disaster — with President Trump walking away empty-handed.

The high-stakes second meeting between the pair to strike a disarmament deal broke up in disarray in Hanoi, without even a joint statement being issued at the end.

However, US national security adviser John Bolton denied it was a disaster.

The White House aide said the issue was whether North Korea would accept what the president called “the big deal” — denuclearising completely — or something less, “which was unacceptable to us.”

“So the president held firm to his view. He deepened his relationship with Kim Jong-un. I don’t view it as a failure at all when American national interests are protected,” Mr Bolton added.

The outcome in Hanoi fell far short of expectations, after critics said the two leaders’ initial historic meeting in Singapore — which produced only a vague commitment from Kim to work “toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” — had yielded more style than substance.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton denied the summit was a disaster. Picture: Yohei Kanasashi/Kyodo News via AP, FileSource:AP

According to senior US officials, in the week leading up to the Hanoi summit the North Koreans had demanded the lifting of effectively all UN Security Council economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang since March 2016.

In return, Pyongyang was only offering to close a portion of the Yongbyon complex, a sprawling site covering multiple facilities — and the North is believed to have other uranium enrichment plants.

“Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times,” an unusually downcast Mr Trump told reporters after it had concluded, adding that he would “rather do it right than do it fast.”